Croydon has developed into one of London’s main employment hubs over the past decade, behind only the West End, Canary Wharf and the City of London as the UK capital’s fourth-largest office space provider. Over 12,000 businesses operate out of the borough, with financial services, logistics and technology having become particularly strong sectors. Croydon’s status as an emerging tech hub is particularly notable – there was a 38% rise in tech, digital and creative start-up activity in Croydon between 2011 and 2013 according to the Office for National Statistics Business Register.
Significant regeneration investment is in the process of transforming Croydon, with a major coordinated redevelopment programme funneling GBP3.5 billion of public and private funds into rejuvenating the centre of the town. This includes the GBP1 billion Westfield shopping mall development that will create a major new leisure hub in the heart of Croydon when it opens in 2019.
Croydon is also well-connected, with integrated rail, tram and bus services providing quick access to London, Brighton and the south of England. The main rail hub at East Croydon is outer London’s busiest national rail station with trains during rush hour every 5 minutes to London Bridge (18 mins), London Victoria (19 mins), and Brighton (42 mins). Gatwick, the UK’s second largest airport, is only 14 minutes by train from East Croydon, serving over 200 destinations across 90 counties for over 40 million passengers a year.
All these factors are attracting new residents at record rates. Central Croydon’s population alone is expected to grow by 20,000 between 2011 and 2020. Meanwhile across the borough new residents are forecast to take Croydon’s total population above 400,000 for the first time by 2021 – representing growth of 9.9% over just a decade.
In the face of this growing population, Croydon faces a considerable housing shortfall. The local council believes they need 1,900 new homes per annum to 2017/2018 to catch up with the shortfall, however this appears unlikely to be achieved with only 1,283 completions recorded in 2014.
As such, pressure on prices is set to continue. Croydon’s average house price has already risen 63% since 2005, while in the year to Q4 2015, Land Registry data put year-on-year growth at 11.1%. With entry prices notably low – more than 60% lower than Central London – Croydon stands out as an ideal location for strong returns in London.
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